Do snails hold the secret to AI?

A new study from the UK shows that snails use only two neurons in their brains to make decisions, which is an extremely simple process, and yet they achieve remarkably sophisticated results. Does that create a vastly simpler model for creating artificial intelligence? Neuroscientist George Kemenes from the University of Sussex considers this.

A snail's brain has about 20,000 cells. Consider that compared to a human, who has around 100 billion. But all decision making comes down to two cells -- one that decides whether the snail is hungry, and another, working in parallel, that decides whether the snail should look for food.

Based on the activity of the neurons, the snail can then adapt its nervous system to conserve energy by not looking for food if it doesn't require it.

George says this could influence the development of robotic brains to allow them to operate more efficiently and use less power, as well as adapt to their environmnment.

He says his research reveals that you don't need a complex series of parts to create an AI that can make complex decisions - which may change the way AI is developed.